Monmouth Park could get help from Oceanport as track faces shutdown

Noah K. Murray/The Star-LedgerMonmouth Park in Oceanport faces a shutdown in 2012 if a new lease deal can't be reached in seven days.

Gov. Christie blames "untrustworthy" racehorse owners group for deal breakdownNew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie answers questions about the dispute over a proposed deal to save horse racing at Monmouth Park during a December 12, 2011 press conference in Trenton. With the deal faltering, Christie blames the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horseman's Association for demanding more money after a handshake deal had been struck and calls the group "untrustworthy."

Oceanport Mayor Mike Mahon has offered to have his borough serve as the “transition vehicle” to end the impasse between the state and the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association that is threatening to shut down Monmouth Park Racetrack next summer for the first time since it opened in 1946.

Mahon sent a letter today to Gov. Chris Christie requesting that the Monmouth racing license be transferred to Oceanport so the town can serve as the track’s temporary landlord until a new private operator can be found. He said Oceanport has no interest in running the track on a long-term basis.

“There are other options available, and we’re looking to help,” he said.

Christie blamed the horsemen’s group, calling them “completely untrustworthy.” John Forbes, president of the horsemen’s association, said the state changed a key component in the deal at the last minute, opting not to transfer the license for thoroughbred racing at the Meadowlands.

Forbes called that license “a cornerstone” of the agreement.

Christie, who wants the state out of the money-losing racing business (it is also looking to privatize the Meadowlands Racetrack), threatened to shut down Monmouth Park next year if a deal isn’t reached by the deadline he imposed.

He had no comment on Mahon’s offer today — though no other solution to the stalemate has been forwarded by either side.

The board of directors of the Sports and Exposition Authority was updated on the Monmouth Park situation during today ’s regularly scheduled meeting, though no action was taken on the matter, spokesman John Samerjan said.

Mahon said there is a legal avenue that will allow Oceanport to serve as the transition vehicle without the state having to go through a rebidding process that could take another year.

Monmouth Park, which runs live racing from mid-May until Labor Day, employs approximately 1,600 people at the height of the season and pays $1.84 million annually in property taxes to Oceanport.

Oceanport also provided the state with a $26 million loan over 20 years for the stormwater management project designed to clean up local waterways polluted by runoff from the track.

The unraveling of the deal to privatize Monmouth could also jeopardize the state’s plans to lease the Meadowlands to Jeff Gural, since Christie said he wanted the deals done simultaneously.